On Tuesday, February 10, the ceremonial opening of the exhibition 'Games of Winter Images' (Hry zimních obrazů) took place at the Czech Centre in Milan. This artistic project has been included directly in the official program of the Winter Games in Italy under the 'Cultural Olympiad' banner. The Sport in Art platform and Czech Centres are presenting contemporary artists who find inspiration in ice hockey, skiing, or winter landscapes.
Curator Petr Volf selected the works to showcase athletic performance from various perspectives. Significant space is dedicated to ice hockey, represented in Milan by the steel sculptures of Jakub Flejšar, the symbolism of Jakub Špaňhel, the evocative work of Laura Limbourg, geometric goals by Karel Štědrý, and the expressive paintings of Jan Vytiska. The dynamics of movement on ice and snow are further captured in works by Michael Rittstein, Milan Cais, and Ondřej Mestek. Alongside established names, young, talented artists from the Art Grand Slam project—Anna Krninská, Jan Soumar, and Martin Daněk—were also given the spotlight. Other exhibiting artists include Alena Anderlová, Michal Cihlář, Radu Tesaro Kirby, David Mazanec, Marek Nenutil, Julius Reichel, Klára Sedlo, Jan Šafránek, and Eva Vones.
The international ambitions of the entire project in Italy were confirmed by the world premiere of the English edition of Sport in Art magazine. Created in close cooperation with the Czech Olympic Academy, the magazine aims for a global audience and the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee through distribution in various National Houses.
The exhibition will run until March 15. For the Czech visual arts, this represents an extraordinary opportunity to present itself to a global audience right at the heart of the sporting world.
The 'Games of Winter Images' exhibition was also personally visited by the Head of State, Petr Pavel. You can read more about it HERE.
Photo report from the opening:.jpg)
